


And You're the Sky

by gravitality



Series: Ocean and Sky [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Cute, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Nonbinary Character, actually itll hurt a bit but ey, badass allura, buckle in for the cute harmless klance you all have been waiting for, grunge keith, honestly this is going to be pretty cute, keith probably rides a motorcycle, nonbinary pidge, pastel lance, transgirl character, transgirl shay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-24 11:44:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7507006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gravitality/pseuds/gravitality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith needs friends. Lance needs recognition. The two realize that what they need could be found in each other. Tossing their differences aside, the sea finds comfort in the sky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is based on the image found here: http://y-annah.tumblr.com/post/146730893039/pastel-lance-and-grunge-keith-is-my-aesthetic. Go check out their whole blog, though. It's pretty great!

_“You’re the sky,” he murmured. His voice was deep and soft, his hands worn and gentle. They brushed against the other’s, making him flush. “You’re so wide, and open, and comforting,” his voice continued, still barely a whisper. “You’re always there, and, I might be alone on this one, but if I ever feel scared, I just look up at you, and I come back down again.  
_

_“You’re the sky, you really are. It’s as if I’m the ocean, expansive and rolling and deep, and you’re the sky.” There was a pause as his fingers brushed the other’s hand. “You’re the sky.”_

“You should write poetry, Keith.” Pidge’s voice brought him to attention, his daydream thrown out the window. “I mean, I guess you already do, since you write so many songs, but you should try writing poetry. Like, for the school’s newspaper or something.” Pidge shoveled food in their mouth, making a pleased noise. “Hunk offered to make my lunch yesterday since he destroyed one of my projects and, god, I do not regret _anything_.”  


“Where's Hunk?” Keith asked, turning his head to look at Pidge. Their glasses were smeared and their clothes were covered with oil in a few places, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary.  


“I think he got caught up in Shiro’s room. He’s been planning on moving things around, and Hunk’s one of the few kids here who could even begin to lift one of those boxes.”  


“Fair enough,” Keith agreed, eyeing Pidge’s lunch.  


“Forgot yours?”  


“Yeah.”  


“You can have some of mine, but try not to forget. Again.” Pidge slid the container over to Keith, who took a few of the apple slices. Pidge laughed. “Dude, just take them all. I’m sure not going to eat them.” Keith smiled amusedly before taking the rest of the slices, eating them slowly.  


Pidge began going on about one of their new projects--a robot they were calling Rover--and Keith started to zone out. This was how their lunches normally went, Pidge talking and Keith throwing in a few comments here and there. Neither of them minded. In fact, it was appreciated. Normally, Pidge would get shut up after a few minutes of nothing but technology talk, and Keith would be forced to talk. Their relationship was nice--symbiotic, even.

They had met on the first day of middle school, sixth grade. Keith was sitting at the edge of the classroom, in the middle of the two doors. Pidge had walked in, glancing around, before, for some reason, deciding to sit next to Keith.  


Pidge turned to him. “Hey,” they began after a few minutes of silence. “My name’s Pidge. What about you?”  


He eyed them a bit before replying, “Keith.”  


“It’s nice to meet you, Keith.” And suddenly, there was a hand in front of him waiting for a shake. Keith took it, shaking it slowly, looking at Pidge weirdly. They were just grinning. 

“Hey, Keith,” Pidge said, forcing him out of his thoughts again.  


He got out an irritated “what?” before seeing what the what was.  


“This is Lance. He wants to know if he could sit with us.” Pidge motioned to Lance, who smiled and waved. Or was that a smirk?  


Keith didn’t like him.  


“Sure, yeah,” he said, looking around before putting his earbuds in, plugging them into his phone.  


“Oh, come on. At least be sociable. You’ve been acting weird all week. You owe me this.”  


Keith groaned, irritated that they were right. He took his earbuds out, hanging them around his neck. He already knew who Lance was, though.  


Lance was perfect. He was popular and loud and fun, and he had the looks that go with a celebrity. If Keith were to tease him with saying something along the lines of “Why the pretty boy?”, Lance would simply agree in saying, “Thanks for noticing. It takes a lot of work.”  


Keith hoped he wasn’t the only one who noticed how the work paid off. Smooth, clear face; tan, broad shoulders; a fashion style the level of a model; Keith dearly hoped he wasn’t the only one who noticed these.  


Pidge cleared their throat, making Keith realize he had zoned out, looking at Lance. If Lance’s smile hadn’t been a smirk before, it definitely was now. Keith’s face flushed, and he looked away, focusing on eating the rest of his apples.  


“Keith, this is Lance. Lance, this is Keith,” Pidge stated, pretending that the previous actions hadn’t happened. “Now you two play nice, I need to check in on Hunk, see if he is with Shiro.” Pidge excused themself, standing up and handing the rest of their lunch to Keith, who looked at it was disgust, and pushed it away.  


Keith had forgotten that Lance was there, and was quite happy with that, until Lance leaned across the table, his perfectly painted nails and his perfectly cared for hands visible in Keith’s peripheral vision. “So,” Lance began, putting his hands together. Keith looked up, and immediately looked down. It wasn’t fair to be that pretty. It should be illegal for him to wear flower crowns.  


“So,” Lance said again, clearly not starting until he knew he had Keith’s full attention. Keith looked up, and Lance had that _smile_ again. It wasn’t a smile, but it wasn’t a smirk, and, honestly, it made him look like a cat.  


“So,” Keith mimicked, putting his hands in the same pose Lance’s were. Lance’s eyes lit up with competition. He leaned across the table, arching his back, and by god, Keith needed to look away. He didn’t. He looked Lance straight in the eyes, but didn’t mimic his movements. Lance’s smile grew into a smirk, and he settled down into a more comfortable position, only, apparently, to immediately regret that, and immediately leaning across the table again, back arched, butt on the end of the bench.  


“Your name’s Keith, right?”  


Small talk.  


“Yeah.”  


“Mine’s Lance. Do we have any classes together?”  


Keith shrugged. _Don’t look at his shoulders._  


“I think we have math together. You sit in the back, right? The back corner? Furthest from the door?”  


“Yeah.” _Don’t look at his lips._  


“Coran, sixth period?”  


“Yeah.” _Don’t look at his eyes._  


“Knew it! Hey, why don’t we walk to class together? It’s next period, so we might as well.”  


Keith looked at him, irritation flooding into his eyes. He didn’t want the guy here, he didn’t want to talk to the guy, and he sure as hell didn’t want to start _liking_ the guy. Why couldn’t his gay ass find someone else to find hot?  


“No.”  


“Aw, why not?”  


“Why should we?”  


“Are you going to wait five minutes for me to get to class first and then go?”  


“If it’s the only way not to walk with you, then yes.”  


“Rude much?” Lance huffed, his face forming a slight pout. Keith felt his cheeks turning red, and coughed, hiding his face in his elbow. After all, who coughed on their hands? Gross. Lance’s signature smile grew, and Keith grew defensive. “How about we make a deal?”  


“Depends.”  


“On what?”  


Keith looked at Lance like he was stupid, before rolling his eyes and sighing, “On what the deal is.”  


“Right, right. If I get you to admit something about yourself by the end of the year, then you have to walk to every class with me for the rest of the school year.”  


“What if I admit something on the last day? Why are you even so interested in me, anyway?”  


“I think you’re cute,” Lance cooed, winking. Keith was shocked. He almost fell off the bench. He looked at Lance with such fear and hope in his eyes, Lance started laughing. “It was just a joke, dude, calm down. Your only friend is Pidge, and that’s pretty lame. I figured I could help you out by befriending you.”  


“So you’re doing this because you think I’m a charity case.”  


“Basically.”  


Keith summoned his best Lance voice, pushing his hurt down into the pits of his stomach, down to his feet, out of his body, before copying what Lance had said earlier: “Rude, much?” He sighed. “Listen, I don’t need your pity or your charity or your anything. I can survive on my own,” he stated, returning to his normal pitch. He couldn’t even comprehend that he had believed Lance. _I mean, Lance? Find me cute? Come on. Stop feeling sad or disappointed or mad or--or whatever this is._  


Lance rolled his eyes. “Sure you can, Mr. I’ll-just-listen-to-Coldplay-my-whole-life. I know you don’t want my help, but I know Pidge would prefer not having to see you turn into a basket case.” Keith winced. “Hopefully, you would prefer not being one, too. I can accept that ‘grunge’ is your thing, but please, for the love of god, make sure that emo doesn’t become your thing,” he sighed. “So, deal or no deal?”  


“We’re not on a TV show.”  


“Just accept the deal.”  


“What’ll happen if I do?”  


“Oh, we’ll hang out more. I gotta get that piece of info from you somehow, right? So we’ll go to parties, play some games, do what _friends_ do.” He smirked, and Keith glared. Keith couldn’t believe what he was about to say.  


“Alright, I’ll do it. Take the deal, I mean.”  


“Excited for those parties?” Lance raised his eyebrows in a perverted way, all the while making crude gestures with his hands. Keith groaned, muttering a ‘sure, Lance,’ before sticking another apple in his mouth, as he had previously forgot about their existence in his lap. Lance let out a snicker. “Not into that?” Keith sighed and rolled his eyes. Lance pouted. “Done with talking? Lame.”  


“Takes one to know one.” Pidge’s reassuring voice came as a shock to them both, and Keith turned around to see them smiling. “You two making friends?” They sat themself back down next to Keith, grabbing their abandoned lunch in the process. “Turns out Hunk’s eating in Shiro’s room, and he’ll be going to help out after school, too.”  


“Figures,” Keith murmured, finishing off another apple slice.  


“But that leaves me free after school. Hunk and I were planning on going to the Shop, but that’s obviously not happening. Unless you want to come with?” They looked expectantly at Keith. “I ordered a lot of equipment and I’ll need help carrying it, and you’re strong.”  


Keith gave Pidge a small smile, saying, “Sure. I was going to train, b--” before he was interrupted by Lance.  


“Sorry, Pidge, but Keith and I were going to do something after school,” he said, reaching across the table and putting an arm Keith.  


“We were?” He looked at Lance, confusion arising on his face. Pidge took notice that Lance’s arm was not removed.  


“We were, remember? We were going to have a, ah, a bonding moment.”  


Pidge and Keith exchanged a look, and Pidge shrugged, “You can just help me tomorrow, then. Some of the parts might not be in yet, anyway.”  


“That sounds good, yeah,” Keith agreed, taking a bite of his last apple. He glanced at Lance, and couldn’t help but feel like Lance looked annoyed. He got annoyed at that, and angrily bit into his apple, finishing it. Lance sat back down, crossing his arms and making a slight pouting face. Keith felt a little empty without Lance’s arm, but he pushed the feeling away, refusing to be gay for Lance’s skinny, bony, little ass.  


“What did you guys talk about while I was gone? I mean, Lance seemed pretty intense when I walked by.” Pidge asked, taking a piece of their lunch. “Mmm! This is even good cold!”  


“Nothing much,” Keith answered, an amused chuckle escaping his lips. “Lance was just talking about friends.”  


“What a peculiar topic,” Pidge inquired, immediately understanding Keith’s tone and the stress on the last word. “Might I know more?”  


“You’ll have to ask Lance about that. It was him that was talking,” Keith answered, his tone equally as teasing as Pidge’s, as he took a bit of the chicken from Pidge’s lunch. “God, this is good cold,” he murmured.  


“I know, right?” Pidge whispered back.  


They both looked back up to Lance, who looked quite irritated at their tones.  


“Hey, we were having a conversation, which we both took part in, so it wasn’t just me talking!” He exclaimed.  


Pidge started laughing, falling over onto Keith. The bell rang just as they began laughing, and Keith sent Lance a smug smile before giving him a small wave, saying, “I’ll give you five minutes.”  


Lance glared at Keith, and someone called him over. He looked over at who it was, giving Keith another cold stare, before bounding over to “Princess” Allura, and instantly saying something that made her laugh.


	2. Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance is the hottest pan in the house and Keith makes a Spongebob reference.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, forgot to mention, but this fic is heavily inspired by the song "Cecilia and the Satellite" by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

_“You should know by now,” the other began, turning on his side so he could face his lover, “that I’m the ocean.” His lover looked at him peculiarly, an unspoken question in his eyes. He chuckled a bit, taking his hand in his own, and continued in saying, “And you’re the sky.”_  


_His lover laughed a bit, saying one word, looking dreamily into his eyes, “Elaborate.”  
_

_The other smiled. “You light up at night,” he explained, moving one of his hands to his lover’s cheek, “and you glow in the morning. You’re a reassuring, comforting feeling whenever I see you.” He leaned in, kissing his lover’s lips, a slow, chaste kiss, pulling away and putting his forehead against his lover’s. “And I trust you.”_

The school day had ended, and Keith was loitering around the front gate like usual. He had nowhere to go, and was subtly hoping Lance would forget about their… plans. He took his phone out, watching the time. Seven minutes after two. He figured Lance would have found him by then, if he did plan on following his earlier word. He pushed off the front gate, making his way to the student parking lot.  


He took his time, as he was in no hurry, when he stopped a ways away from his bike. There was Lance, perched on it, being _too damn sexy for his own damned good_ , like usual. Keith’s eyes narrowed, and he _knew_ that Lance must know he was there, because who would do those things normally? Those are the type of things that make straight girls swoon and gay boys get a hard on. Keith grumbled, forcing himself to calm down, and slightly storming over to Lance.  


“And, _what_ exactly do you think you’re doing?” He asked, upon reaching his bike. Earlier, when walking up, Lance’s back was to him, but now, closer up, he could see the extra helmet in Lance’s lap. _Where the hell did he get that?_ Keith asked himself, knowing for certain that he didn’t have an extra helmet, and definitely not one that was pastel pink.  


Lance looked up at him, smiling when he saw Keith. “We’re going out tonight. It’s a Friday, there’s no homework, why not have some fun?” Lance’s smile quickly turned into _that_ smile. The one Keith never knew if it was a smirk or not.  


Keith’s glare grew. “And why are you on my bike?”  


“Oh, so this is your bike. I wasn’t sure, but I figured I’d trust Pidge, anyway.”  


“So Pidge told you this?”  


“You aren’t their only friend.”  


Keith stood still, fists clenched at his sides. Lance was looking up at him, that smug, smug smile on his face. He hated it.  


“Fine, whatever,” he grumbled, grabbing his own helmet and sliding it on. “What the hell do you even have in mind?” He asked, knowing he’d immediately regret saying that.  


“Well, Allura’s having a party--”  


“No. No parties.”  


Lance gave a dramatic, exasperated sigh. “ _Fine_ , Mr. Antisocial. How about you just come over to my house, then.”  


Keith, already situated on the bike, had a difficult time of looking over his shoulder and giving Lance the confused, irritated look he solely deserved. “That sounds like a _terrible_ idea.”  


Lance groaned. “Well, what the fuck do you want to do? I don’t know what idiots like doing.”  


“I’m pretty sure you have a better idea than anyone here,” Keith retorted. “I don’t even want to do anything with--”  


“Oh! How about we go shopping?” Lance cut off Keith’s groan, adding, “We could go to that one mall with the movie theatre.”  


“You’re paying.” Keith turned the bike on. “You can put your helmet on now.”  


“Oh, right.” Lance fumbled with the straps, and Keith sighed, putting the kickstand back down and swinging his legs over the bike to help him. He took the helmet from Lance, tying and tightening the straps.  


“This helmet is so old,” Keith muttered. “Is this, like, 80’s style or something?” He looked up at Lance and groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re into 80’s aesthetics.”  


Lance gave him the look, the one that made Keith think he was an actor on the office. “I’m not the one with the mullet.”  


“So you are?” Keith smiled a bit, and saw Lance’s face grow pink through the tinted (pink) protective screen of the helmet. “That must mean you like my mullet, huh?” He simpered.  


“Shut up!”  


“And so the truth floweth forth.” Keith turned back around, getting back on the bike, and Lance whined and hit his back. He let out a small laugh, revving the engine. “Hold on tight. You’re going to have to tell me where this mall is, by the way.”  


Lance cautiously wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist, his hands reaching up to Keith’s chest. Lance’s face was burning, and he rested his head on Keith’s back, attempting to hide his face from the world, silently glad that the helmet he brought had a pink tinted screen.  


Keith revved the engine of his Kawasaki Ninja, smirking. He felt Lance warm on his back, and his face grew red. He pulled out of the spot, the engine loud, and heard Lance whimper. Keith blinked. There’s no way Lance would be scared of motorcycles, right?  


He revved the engine louder, moving quicker, and Lance only hugged Keith tighter. _An act_ , Keith thought. _He’s just acting_. They made it out of the busy school parking lot, and out onto the street.  


By now, Lance was practically buried in Keith’s back, but not in a hurting way. It was actually kind of cute, to be honest. Keith felt something building in his chest, something that made him sit up straighter, pull his shoulders back, glance down at Lance’s hands every few seconds. He wanted to make sure Lance was okay.  


He didn’t know why he didn’t hate this feeling.  


He pulled to a rolling, slow stop at the next light. He nudged one of Lance’s arms with his elbow. “Hey, where do I go from here?”  


He felt Lance move from his apparently comfortable position in Keith’s back. Lance, being the slightly taller of the two, was easily able to peer over Keith’s shoulder. His tight grip never left Keith’s body. His voice was quiet, almost to the point where Keith couldn’t hear. It was lucky that they were so close. “You’re going to want to go straight for a bit, and then you’ll be turning left.”  


“When?” Keith asked.  


“Two main streets. I think it’s Balmera.”  


Keith nodded, and when they started moving again, Lance didn’t duck back down. Keith glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and couldn’t help but smile a bit.  
He looked so _free_. Keith spurred the engine, it growling in response, and it took off across the street. He was going faster than they had gone originally, but Lance still didn’t hide. He just grabbed onto Keith tighter, and Keith knew he should be feeling squeezed or choked or something, but the look on Lance’s face as they sped down the open road was enough to keep him going.  


Lance was grinning now. He had sparks in his blue, blue eyes, a fire growing in them, and Keith had to use all of his willpower to not stare into them.  
After a few minutes, Keith saw Balmera Way. “Turn?” he asked, glancing up at Lance.  


Lance nodded, adding “left,” before returning to his amazed state. Keith swerved to the left, legally with blinkers, and they were at another light. It was silent around them, except for the growling of the engine and the passing of cars. Keith figured he should say something, but he didn’t want to wake Lance from his dazed stupor.  
Instead, he just looked at Lance’s face. Lance probably already knew this, but he was beautiful. He was stunning. The way his eyes sparkled in the sunlight, the way his nose was drawn, the way his lips formed into a smile. He was stunning. Keith suddenly felt out of place.  


Their left-turn light turned green, and so Keith turned. Now he would have to pull Lance out of his trance. “Hey, what way now?”  


Lance didn’t reply immediately, so Keith nudged him with his elbow again. “What way now, idiot?”  


“I am not an idiot!” Lance argued, and Keith smiled. “But you’re going to be turning right soon, you won’t be able to miss it. It’s literally just a giant parking lot with giant buildings.”  


“So Seaworld, got it.”  


Lance sighed, putting his chin on Keith’s shoulder, his arms wrapping around in a more comfortable position, his hands now riding low near Keith’s thighs. Keith inhaled sharply, nearly closing his eyes, only just remembering that he was driving.  


They fell into a comfortable silence, going along a small neighborhood street, houses to their left and stores to their right. It wasn’t busy, and they were alone. From what Keith could tell, Lance’s eyes were closed, and Keith’s chest filled up with that feeling again. He felt confident. He felt needed. He situated himself on his bike a little, moving closer to the handles, giving Lance a little more room. Lance gladly took it, and Keith had to slow his breathing.  


He dearly hoped his racecar heart couldn’t be felt through his back.  


He nearly swerved off the road when he saw Lance’s hand shoot up, pointing to the mall. Lance just gripped Keith tighter, immediately putting his hand back down, hiding behind Keith again.  


“You idiot!” Keith scolded. “Give me a warning next time!”  


Keith heard a soft “I’m sorry” repeated over and over again, and instantly felt bad. Lance’s grip was so much tighter on him, squeezing Keith’s stomach, and he felt Lance’s helmet digging into his back, and _was Lance_ shaking?  


“Lance, no, no, it’s fine, we’re fine. Is that it, up there?” Keith nodded to where he thought Lance’s finger had pointed. He felt Lance nod. “It’s okay, I’ll be more careful. We’re almost there.” Keith’s earlier thoughts had come back to him, and he knew this couldn’t be an act. It was so real. Lance’s grip was so tight. His trembling was so _real_. “We’re almost there,” he stated again, driving slow and careful. Lance’s shaking didn’t stop. 

They had pulled into the parking lot, Keith picking the first spot he came across, no matter how far away it was from the stores. He pulled to a slow stop, quick to shut the bike off. The kickstand down, the keys in hand, he slid off, turning to Lance in the process. Lance was still shaking, fumbling even more with the straps than before. Keith reached up, Lance’s hands brushing with his, undoing the ties for him. He slid the helmet off of Lance’s head, laying it on the seat, never breaking eye contact with Lance. He looked absolutely terrified.  


“Lance, don’t feel like you need to stay, it’s okay,” Keith murmured.  


“No, no, I’m fine,” Lance insisted, hopping down off the bike, but nearly falling. Keith caught him.  


“I can take you back home--or, you could call your folks.”  


“I’m fine,” he exclaimed, in something close to a spit, pushing Keith off of him. “I’m fine.” It was softer the second time around. They stood there for a bit, Keith deeming it a good time to take off his own helmet. He let Lance cool off for a bit as he hooked the helmets to the bike. When he was done, Lance was grinning again.  


“What?” Keith asked, more as an irritated statement than a question.  


“I got you to come to the mall,” Lance whispered, before laughing. Keith sighed.  


“Alright, that’s it, I’m done.” He was about to get back on his bike before Lance grabbed the sleeve of his leather jacket.  


“And I have to hold all your bags first, and tell you that, no, that outfit does not make your butt look too big first.”  


“Oh, Keith, I know you’d enjoy that second one,” Lance teased, pulling Keith through the parking lot, into Macy’s. Keith sighed as Lance purposely dragged him through the perfume department, trying all of the samples, and asking for Keith’s opinion for the most part. He had to admit, though, it was hard to be annoyed at Lance when he was so damned cute. Every time Lance turned around to put something back on the shelf, Keith (accidentally) eyed Lance’s butt which, as nonexistent as it was, looked damn nice in thigh-highs and shorts.  


When Lance had finished dragging him throughout Macy’s, they continued on to the real mall, with Lance dragging Keith into almost every store there. Their roles reversed, however, when Keith found out the mall had a Hot Topic. He practically had to force Lance into the small, cluttered store, but once he was in, Lance was immediately captivated by the amount of cute socks they had. Keith went immediately to the band shirts, eyeing the new Fall Out Boy shirts. He stood there for a bit, until he heard Lance calling his name. He looked to the right, and nearly recoiled at the sight. Lance was nearly drowning in socks.  


Lance wasn’t allowed in that Hot Topic again.  


After popping into a few more stores and Lance buying a few more things, they finally made their way to the the theatre. There wasn’t much playing, and Lance had seen it all and Keith wasn’t interested in seeing any of them. Lance decided against it, pulling Keith, instead, back outside of the mall. It was dark out, and there weren’t as many cars as there was before. They walked to where their ride was parked, out in the back of the lot, near a short wall and a small, little assortment of trees and bushes.  


Lance hopped up on the wall, placing the bags down on the ground next to him. He patted the open wall next to him, a sign for Keith to sit down too. Keith tried to act reluctant.  


They sat in silence for a while. Lance broke it, looking up at the stars. “I wish we could see them better,” Lanced murmured. His voice was as soft as when he was apologizing on the motorcycle. Keith pushed it behind him.  


“You could drive out to the desert,” Keith responded.  


“I don’t have my license yet.” It was obvious Lance was embarrassed, but Keith laughed a bit anyway. Lance just huffed a tiny bit, arms crossing across his chest. Keith looked over at him, at his shoulders illuminated by the dim light, at his eyes shining with those blue fires, at his perfectly shaped lips, curved into a small smile.  


Lance turned his head a bit, looking at Keith a tiny bit. His smile grew, and Keith felt his heart start burning. Lance uncrossed his arms, laying one of his hands on Keith’s. Keith hoped that the same light that made Lance so beautiful wasn’t the same one to give away his red face. Lance leaned in a bit more, his hand holding onto Keith’s, whose heart was beginning to move like a jet plane.  


Their faces were almost touching, and Keith swallowed. Lance leaned in, his lips against Keith’s ear. Keith closed his eyes, controlling his breathing.  
Two words were whispered in his ear: “You’re gay.” Lance immediately pulled away, laughing as he saw Keith’s reaction. Keith’s face grew red.  


“And you’re an ass.”  


“Oh, so you don’t deny it?” Lance teased, his cat-like smirk back on his face.  


“You’re the gay one for doing that.”  


“Correction, I’m the pan one.”  


Keith froze, this new information flooding his mind. Lance just continued as if Keith wasn’t stuck to the wall. “Come on, take me home,” he said, hopping off the wall and grabbing his bags. “Drive carefully this time around.”


	3. Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is sad, and Allura can't stand it. She deems Keith as the cause, and she's not wrong.

_The two looked at each awhile longer, their eyes swimming with passion. The lover reached his hand out, resting it on the other’s cheek. He whispered, saying, “You know you shouldn’t.”  
_

__

“Tell me why.”  


__

“I’m unreliable.”  


__

“Since when?”  


__

“I’m not the best you could get.” 

It was lunch again, and Keith miraculously remembered his today. It didn’t consist of much, but at least Pidge was pleased with him. Hunk was back at their table today, and he and Pidge were rambling to each other about Pidge’s project, Rover.  


Keith had his music plugged in, zoning out, eating his lunch. Every once in awhile, flashes of Lance’s smile came back to him, making him shiver, his neck tingling from where Lance’s lips had touched it. He knew it was just a prank, and he knew that Lance definitely didn’t mean anything by it, but he still felt him drawn to the memory of it. Lance was right. He was gay. Not that he didn’t know it. He was just gay for Lance.  


Hopefully Lance didn’t know that.  


Keith let a breath out, running a hand through his hair. He had forgotten his beanie at home today, having rushed out of bed to make a lunch and not be late. His hair was a bit greasy, but it had been worse. He paused, looking around before sniffing at himself. No, he was good. He didn’t need to shower yet. He glanced around again, sighing with relief when he saw no one had noticed him.  


He looked over to Pidge and Hunk, chatting it up still, and he sensed he wouldn’t be included. He looked around for Lance. The brown-haired boy was nowhere to be seen, but he could see Allura a ways away. She was talking to Shiro, one of the engineering teachers. Everyone knew she had a crush on him, and it was possible even he knew. Who could blame her? Even Keith found him attractive, and he didn’t know why he was still stuck up on Lance’s skinny frame with his bony ass. Compared to Lance, Shiro was a god: almost all muscle with broad shoulders, a jawline that could cut, and a butt sculpted by the gods themselves.  


Yeah, Keith had no idea why he wanted Lance. He shrugged and focused back on his food again, eating slowly. 

School had ended, and Keith was waiting around for Pidge.  


After twenty minutes, he figured Pidge had forgotten, and was probably off asking Shiro for extra paper or supplies or something. Or maybe stalking Hunk and Shay. Probably the latter. He had to admit, the couple was atrociously cute, but he preferred the looks of Lance.  


It’s odd how when terrible things happen, you just learn to accept them. He had left his motorcycle at home, as well, his mom giving him a ride to school this morning, which also meant he had to walk home. He sighed, neglecting putting his earbuds in, and walking through the school to the front.  


He paused. He heard singing. Looking around, searching for the creator of the sound, he saw that the door was open to one of the music classrooms. He peeked inside.  


“ _For all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you_ ,” the voice sang. It was coming from Lance. Lance. Lance fucking Sanchez. Keith got his phone out, recording the song.  


Lance continued, and Keith realized he was playing the guitar as well. _Lance was playing the guitar._ Keith felt as if he was hyperventilating.  


The song continued, and Lance’s voice just grew more and more heavenly, and was Keith almost swooning? His breath grew heavier, Lance finishing up the song. He stayed still for a while, hands still on the guitar, before he set the guitar down, letting out a sigh. Keith stopped recording. There was a quiet pause, deathly still. Lance looked over to the door, and Keith quickly hid. He decided to leave.  
On his walk home, he listened to Lance’s voice on repeat.  
He was afraid that it was his new favorite sound. 

Lance was talking to himself. His voice reverberated around the room, giving it a special tone, one that Allura was used to, but would never grow tired of. Allura knew it was bad for her to care more about Lance’s voice than his words, but she couldn’t help herself.  


“I just feel so alone, Allura,” he was saying. “I’ve just been feeling tired and alone and lost and like I’m in my own world, forever. Like there’s a darkness closing around me. I know everyone here is used to me, and I know a majority of them accept my clothing choice, but--outside of school? Outside of home? I’m still not used to being called a... you know, a... a faggot. I took someone out to the mall the other day and, in all actuality, I didn’t get any stares. It was amazing. It was--it was otherworldly. I think it was because of him.  


“I think it was because of Keith,” he repeated, and his voice was breathless and hollow, with a mix of hopelessness. “The kid’s a lost case. He’s lost, I swear.” Lance swallowed struggling to keep a straight face. His hands gripped tightly at the hem of his shorts, choking out a continuation, “But, I swear to _God_ , I can’t keep away from him. I need to, Lord, God, I need to. I can’t.” Lance let out an emotional sigh, filling the room with lost emotion, an ocean of feeling. “It’s not like he means anything to me. It’s not like I’m into him or--or anything like that. I just--can’t leave him alone.”  


“Lance,” another voice cut him off. Her accent was calming, and her gaze was serene and reassuring. Lance felt safe around her, and he relished in this feeling. Lance felt like a burning fire around Keith, he remembered. He cursed himself for bringing up Keith. Allura comforted, softly, with a small chuckle, “Lance, it’s not wrong to have an interest in a person.”  


“But this doesn’t feel like an interest.”  


“What does it feel like, then?”  


There was a pause, and it seemed as if the room was holding it’s breath, silently waiting for the answer, desperately hoping for love.  


“I don’t know,” Lance whispered. “It feels like I’m trapped. I made a deal with him, and I can’t go through with it. He’s too damned nice and I can’t do this to him; he doesn’t like me.”  


“You rode on his bike yesterday,” she said. Her voice was beautiful.  


“Yeah, and?”  


“Pidge hasn’t even touched his bike.”  


“I forced my way onto it.”  


“He let you stay.”  


“Reluctantly.”  


“Lance.” Her voice was firm, and Lance looked up at her. He looked hurt, and scared, and confused, like he just wanted it to end. Allura’s heart went out to him, knowing exactly how he felt, her mind’s focus transferring to her favorite teacher for a split second. “You need to stop feeling bad about yourself. You’re an amazing person, believe me. Everyone knows it. Hunk, and Pidge, and Shiro, and Coran, and me, and everyone, and--even Keith. We all know it. We all love you.”Allura was taken aback when she noticed that he looked angry.  


“ _That’s not the problem, Allura_! You always think it is! You always think that I’m just not getting enough love, or I’m just feeling a little lonely, but the problem is that I’m infatuated with Keith, and I don’t know how the fuck to deal with it, okay?” He looked at her, and Allura was wrong. Lance wasn’t angry, he was upset. This was the first time he had ever felt like this about someone. Allura should have noticed this, she should have remembered what it was like when she was in her early crushing stages.  


Her hand reached out for Lance’s and, although he flinched, he didn’t pull his hand away. She held it caringly, and Lance was stuck looking at the floor. She rushed to hug him when she saw tears on his sweatshirt.  


No one was allowed to make Lance cry.

-O-

It was the next day at lunch, and Keith had forgotten his lunch yet again. Pidge was reading a book recommended to them from Hunk, something to do with engineering and robotics. Keith wasn’t interested in it, and Pidge wasn’t interested in talking. It was a win-win situation.  


Keith was looking down at his phone, scrolling through his Tumblr, before there was a light bounce from the other side of the table and it dipped under the new weight.  


“Lance,” Keith began, sighing, and he looked up. He blinked in shock when he saw the perfect Allura sitting at his table instead. Her hair was done up (milkmaid braid style, Keith liked hair), and her makeup was perfect (Keith was jealous, his eyeliner was never that amazing). Allura was smiling, but Keith couldn’t help but be intimidated. Her smile was too friendly, if that could even be a thing. He glanced at Pidge, who had also looked up, and Pidge shrugged when their gazes met. They returned to their book, and Keith’s attention returned to Allura, who had cleared her throat.  


“So, you’re Keith, are you?” She said. That hurt. She didn’t even know who he was. He wasn’t surprised, but it still hurt.  


“I’m Keith, yeah.”  


“You’ve been hanging out with Lance, right?”  


“Yeah, for like one day.” Keith eyed her, not quite sure what she was interrogating him for.  


“I’m going to have to ask you to stop.”  


Keith blinked, then laughed. “Hey, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not making him do anything. This is all him. Seriously, I want out of this as much as you want me out.”  


Allura’s eyes narrowed, and she leaned across the table. Never before has a bomber jacket, a tank, and shorts looked so threatening. Keith swallowed.  
“Listen, alright? I need you to stop talking to him. Ignore him, even. Just don’t let him near you.”  


“And why is that?”  


“I don’t have to tell you anything.”  


She was gone, and Keith stared after her, unimpressed. He noticed Pidge glancing up at him, but he said nothing. He had no answers for whatever questions they were creating. And open and closed his fist, stopping only to play with the frayed edges on his fingers. He subconsciously bit his lip, studying Lance from afar.  
He couldn’t immediately notice anything wrong with the blue boy, but after further investigation, Keith noticed his outfit wasn’t normal. Lance was known for his makeup, his flower crowns, his crop tops, his shorts, his--everything. He was pastel. And he was cute.  


Today, he had on a tank top and jeans. No makeup, no flower crown, no crop top, no shorts, no--anything. Something was wrong. Keith usually saw him smiling, as well. He looked glum. He wasn’t bubbling.  


Keith set his jaw, his fists subconsciously clenched. Something was wrong, and it was because of him. He didn’t know how, and he didn’t know why, but he wanted it fixed.  


He set to work planning, Allura’s silent threats of murder hanging over his head.

Catching Allura on her way to Shiro’s classroom after school was easy. Everyone knew that she went, and no one even tried to stop her anymore. Keith simply had to loiter outside the door and wait for her to come. Shiro had left early that day, too. He had a date.  


As usual, Allura came bounding up the steps, attempting to hide her excitement in case anyone was around. She stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of Keith, giving him a look meant to murder.  


“And, what are you doing here?” She asked, putting on her regal tone, crossing her arms over her chest.  


“Waiting for you,” Keith answered, pushing himself off the wall, making his way over. In all honesty, he felt like this was the final fight sequence between a villain in the hero in a movie. The silence, walking down the hallway like a catwalk, the sheer possibility of being pushed over, head cracking on cold cement. It made him shiver. “Something’s wrong with Lance,” he stated. “What is it?”  


“As I said, I don’t have you tell you anything.” Her mouth was set in a straight line, and Keith didn’t doubt that she would push him over the railing. He kept his distance.  


“I hate to say this, but I’m concerned.” Keith had had an entire two hours to think of this situation, and so far it was playing right into how he had imagined. “I want to know if I can help.”  


“Why? You don’t like him.”  


“I find him irritating, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I hate him. He’s fun to be around.”  


Allura seemed to shift from foot to foot, kind of nervous. She looked at the ground for a while, before looking back over at him. “Again, I don’t have to tell you anything.” She turned around, heading back down the stairs, seeing Shiro’s closed door, knowing he wasn’t there.  


Now that was not what Keith had imagined. He groaned, rolling his eyes and looking up at the sky. He rubbed his temples, annoyed further, and even more determined to figure out the source of Lance’s pain. 

Allura came running down the stairs, glaring at Lance. Lance was leaning against the wall, looking up at the second floor above him.  


“Are you happy?” She hissed, keeping quiet. The second floor hallway above them was in the open, sheltered by a canopy connected to the two buildings. She knew Keith was still up there.  


Lance didn’t answer. Allura’s irritated stare turned soft, and she shuffled over to Lance, hugging him. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “That was rude of me. Do you feel any better?”  


“A bit,” Lance mumbled into her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her. “He really said he liked me?”  


“He thinks you’re fun, yes.”  


Lance’s arms squeezed around Allura a bit tighter, and there was a barely audible whisper. “Thank you,” he said.  


“Of course, Lance. I’d do anything for you.”  


Lance was scared that he knew she wasn’t joking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: Sorry, there won't be an update this week! I've been busy and have been focusing on other things. Thanks for being patient!
> 
> Thanks for reading! This story will now update once a week. If there isn't an update in the beginning of the week, Thursdays are my deadlines, so expect an update before every Thursday! 
> 
> Lance is singing "Cecilia and the Satellite" by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.
> 
> I can be reached on Tumblr at Gravitality.tumblr.com!

**Author's Note:**

> I'll update this whenever I can, and, again, thanks for reading! First Voltron fic, so sorry if the characters seem a little off. Also: this is a high school au.  
> Shiro: either the computers/engineer or PE teacher  
> Coran: maths teacher  
> Zarkon: principal of the rival school  
> I'll add more later!


End file.
